Mineral Wells Index (Mineral Wells, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 128, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 1, 2012 Page: 5 of 10
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Mineral Wells Index / Thursday, November 1, 2012
Call Classifieds at 940-327-0838
PAGE 5
History makers
Lady Rams sweep Iowa Park for first-ever volleyball playoff win
By TONY EIERDAM
sports@mineralwellsindex.com
WINDTHORST - It
can no longer be said
that the Mineral Wells
Lady Rams volleyball
team has never won a
playoff match.
Tuesday night at
Windthorst, the Lady Rams
made school history when
they swept past the Iowa
Park Lady Hawks, 25-11,
25-20, 25-22, to win the bi-
district championship and
become the first MWHS
volleyball team to advance
in postseason play.
"It is special to be the
first team in school histo-
ry to win a playoff match,
but the best part is we get
to keep playing," senior
hitter Taylor Parkhill said.
"I think a big reason we
played so well was we all
talked (on the court) and
played together."
Lady Rams head coach
Taylor Eggleston agreed
with Parkhill that com-
munication was a huge
key to the team's success.
"Communication was
something we have been
working on the past
week in practice," she
said. "I told the girls it
would be so key that
they have to communi-
cate with each other in
order to make it work.
"But that just wasn't
on the court it was on the
bench as well. The bench
did an outstanding job
talking."
The Lady Rams
breezed through game
one, and games two and
three were not really as
close as the scores indi-
cated as Iowa Park put on
late rallies in the final
two contests.
"Winning a playoff
match, and the school's
first, is incredible, and I
am so proud of them,"
Eggleston said. "This is
a good group of girls,
and they are so deserv-
ing of it.
"Not that anybody
before them didn't
deserve it, but these
seniors are the girls I
started with when I first
came here.
"For this to happen
means a lot to me."
The Lady Rams were
aggressive from the start.
A block by senior hitter
Niya Benavides and a kill
by senior middle Sydney
Shelstead helped the
Lady Rams jump out to a
quick 11-4 lead. Shelstead
and Benavides would
each send down nine kills
to lead the team.
Iowa Park, paced by
three kills from Rylee
Hodges, came back to cut
the lead to 14-9 before
MWHS went on a game-
sealing run.
A kill each by
Benavides and senior hit-
ter Kelsey Garland began
the rally, and following
an IP return error,
Parkhill fired an ace to
extend the lead to 18-9.
Two crafty dinks by
Benavides, a kill by
Shelstead and three IP
return errors brought the
opener to game point.
A block by senior
middle hitter Shay
Douglas clinched the
opening contest.
"It was key to us to
get off to a fast start,"
Eggleston said. "The
girls got on a roll and
just kept going."
The Lady Rams got off
to a fast start again in
game two, paced by a
pair of aces from
Shelstead as MWHS led
4-1. Later in the contest,
Garland recorded an ace
as the lead grew to 10-4.
IP had trouble with the
Lady Rams' serves for the
entire match.
"We kept them back on
their heels with our
aggressive serving,"
Eggleston said. "Iowa
Park is not the best in
serve receive, and I told
them to keep with
aggressive and deep
~| Up Next |
The Lady Rams will
play Liberty Hill in
the area playoffs at
7:30 p.m. Friday at
Bangs High School.
TONY EIERDAM/INDEX
At left, Mineral Wells senior hitters Sydney
Shelstead (15) and Kelsey Garland put up the block
in the Lady Rams’ 25-1 I, 25-20, 25-22 win over Iowa
Park on Tuesday in a bi-district playoff match at
Windthorst. Above, senior Chandler Ortiz digs a
ball after an Iowa Park spike.
Making school history with their first-ever volleyball
playoff win, the Mineral wells Lady Rams celebrate
after sweeping Iowa Park Tuesday at Windthorst.
Shown, front row, from left, are Cassidee McCluskey,
Erin Burgeson, Bethany Allen, Sami Stevens, Emily
Clingings, Chandler Ortiz, Brittany Guill, Mariam
serves. I think serving is a
strength of this team, and
the girls were aggressive
at the line. That was
huge, huge, huge."
The Lady Rams used a
5-0 run later in game two
to increase their lead to
17-9. MWHS serving led
to a pair of IP return
errors in the run, and
three rallies were capped
on a pair of kills from
Shelstead and a stopper
from Benavides.
A cross-court set by
junior Erin Burgeson
resulted in a kill by
Douglas, and IP followed
with another return error
TONY EIERDAM/INDEX
Garcia and Megan Guill; and back row, Shay
Douglas, Kelsey Garland, Ashlynn Robinson, Miranda
Watkins, Sydney Shelstead, Hali King, Kennedy
Shelstead, head coach Taylor Eggleston, Niya
Benavides,Taylor Parkhill, coach Taylor Reid and
coach Leslie Holman.
to extend the MWHS
advantage to 24-14.
Iowa Park refused to
give up and scored the
next six points, but the
Lady Rams sealed game
two when Iowa Park
committed a service error
into the net.
Game three was tied at
6-6 before Iowa Park took
its first lead of the match.
The contest was tied four
more times before settling
at 12-12.
MWHS made sure IP
never had the lead again.
Shelstead gave the Lady
Rams the lead for good
with a kill from the mid-
dle. The rally was kept
alive after a brilliant block
from hitter Hali King.
After each team scored
a point, Benavides, on
sets by Cassidee
McCluskey, registered a
pair of kills followed by a
Shelstead stopper (assist-
ed by McCluskey) for a
17-13 lead.
Later in the game, a
pair of IP return errors
after aggressive Lady
Rams' serves increased
the MWHS lead to 23-18.
Three rallies later,
Douglas, off a feed from
Burgeson, sent down a
kill to bring game three to
match point as MWHS
led 24-20.
IP won the next two
points on a kill by
Hodges and a block from
Olivia Dietrichson, but a
kill by Shelstead on the
left side off a Burgeson
feed sealed the first play-
off victory in MWHS vol-
leyball history.
"I told the girls all
week that if they would
play the way that they
are capable of, they can
compete with and beat
anybody," Eggleston said.
"They bought into it,
believed it, and it
showed.
"This is the first time in
a long time that I feel like
we have been able to come
out in three games and
dominate. We didn't lose
one and took care of busi-
ness in all three games.
"That shows the mind
set and maturity level
they have."
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May, David. Mineral Wells Index (Mineral Wells, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 128, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 1, 2012, newspaper, November 1, 2012; Mineral Wells, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth707053/m1/5/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boyce Ditto Public Library.